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Visitation: Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in NW, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Class Identity and Social Mobility
Geography and Human Connection
Sex and Relationships
Altruism
Summary
Analysis
In a monologue, the Black Madonna asks, “How long did you think you could avoid me?” She says she’s not like the other pale depictions of the Madonna. She says she is ancient.
This chapter is yet another experimental interlude that interrupts the linear flow of the narrative. The Black Madonna’s monologue seems to hint at how previous depictions of the Madonna whitewashed history and seem to represent a truth that people have been avoiding.
Themes
